Ukraine has misplaced greater than 40 p.c of the territory it seized in Russia's Kursk area throughout its shock invasion in August as Russian forces launched wave after wave of counterattacks, a senior Ukrainian navy supply mentioned.
The supply, near Ukraine's Basic Employees, mentioned Russia deployed 59,000 troops to the Kursk area after the infiltration and speedy advance of Ukrainian forces caught Moscow off guard.
“On the peak, we managed about 1,376 sq. kilometers, now in fact the world is smaller. The enemy is intensifying counterattacks. Now we management about 800 sq. kilometers. We’ll maintain these territories for so long as it’s thought of handy from a navy perspective,” mentioned the supply cited by Reuters.
By invading Kursk, Kiev hoped it might halt Russian offensives in jap and northeastern Ukraine, power Russia to withdraw forces slowly advancing on the jap entrance, and acquire better leverage in any future peace negotiations. However Russian forces are nonetheless persevering with their advance within the jap area of Donetsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's principal targets had been to grab all of Donbas (consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts) and drive Ukrainian forces out of Kursk. “I'm certain he needs to push us again till January 20,” he informed reporters. “It is vitally necessary (for Putin) to indicate that he’s in command of the state of affairs,” he added.
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump will probably be sworn in as the brand new president of the USA.
The Basic Employees supply additionally reiterated that round 11,000 North Korean troopers have arrived within the Kursk area to help the Russians however most of them haven’t but accomplished their coaching.
The Russian Protection Ministry didn’t reply to a Reuters request for remark. The company was unable to independently confirm the knowledge or descriptions of this Ukrainian supply.
Nevertheless, in accordance with the supply, the most important menace to Ukraine for the time being is within the space of Kurakhove, the place Russian forces are advancing by 200-300 meters on daily basis and have managed to interrupt the Ukrainian protection in some locations. Town of Kurakhove is just a brief distance from Pokrovsk, a logistics hub within the Donetsk area.
At this time, Russia has deployed about 575,000 troops in Ukraine and plans to extend them to 690,000, he additionally claimed.
The identical supply mentioned the Ukrainian navy is taking steps to strengthen air defenses in Kiev and is making related plans for Sumy within the north and Kharkiv within the northeast.
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Supply: APE-MPE-Reuters
